We bought a brand new Elddis Bucaneer Schooner Caravan in July 2013 from Glossop Caravans. Ever since we have had nothing but trouble with the van, and all involved. The customer service and problems caused by Glossop Caravans and Elddis has been absolutely terrible.

We’ve had so much work done to the van it is hard to believe, faults included (sorry for the long list): loads of cupboards incorrectly fitted, brackets and fixings falling off numerous locker doors, lockers being replaced (bad workmanship), faulty double bed support which had snapped, creaking seats, torn mattress, bathroom door handle falling off, heating system grinding noise from filler tank which was low on fluid, household tacks falling off underneath van (used by Glossop to hold motor-mover cabling), cracked underside of caravan, leaking toilet seal, tracker system not working, table stowage tracks fell off, hole in a seat, gas hose leaking (supplied by Glossop), sealant around all windows terrible and messy (all removed and replaced), cables sticking out from behind the entrance light, faulty door handle, faulty alarm waking up the street several nights (now replaced); I think you get the idea, right? All on a brand new top of the range twin axle Buccaneer Schooner, with fitted extras approaching £33.000!

So, we try to reject the van early on and get a replacement. But no, Glossop Caravan’s not willing to replace the van, and insist on trying to fix it. The van went back to Elddis factory for about 6 weeks, only to return with a faulty alarm, water pump still not working correctly. After weeks of begging and problems trying to get people to take us seriously, they replaced the alarm, and arranged retreating the exterior Paintseal G3 Glasscoat (now damaged by rectification works to windows). So we thought we were getting somewhere right? Worth the stress and sleepless nights fighting Glossop Caravans and Elddis?

Fast forward to 5th December 13, still the caravan not fixed. Faults remaining: tracker not working, water pump will not turn itself off. So then I find out more bad news I wasn’t prepared for: the Caravan roof had dents peppered across the roof, and furthermore Glossop Caravans had concealed this fact from me (evidence shows they were aware ahead of sale).

Prior to delivery, Glossop Caravans had signed an inspection report conducted by Paintseal, where staining on the roof and dents had been identified, and brought to the attention and signed for by Glossop Caravans staff. At no point did they tell me about the damage, which shouldn’t have been on a new caravan roof; they simply ignored it, took my money, and did nothing. So surely they will now (Jan 14) have agreed to correct the problem right?

Glossop have had almost 7 weeks to work out what they will do, but they haven’t made any offer to resolve the problem. Continued promises to do something, that never materializes. Glossop Caravans (Ralph Thorman) trying to blame Elddis for not supporting them, and Elddis (Karen Johnson, and MD) repeatedly state that issues are the responsibility of the dealer to resolve, it’s nothing to do with them! Am I not correct to expect undamaged working goods when buying a new expensive top of the range caravan? Well according to Glossop Caravan’s it seems not, perhaps I’m picky in not accepting damaged faulty goods?

So where do I stand? £33,000 spent, Glossop Caravans ignoring me having had 7 weeks to do so since I yet again have rejected the goods. I try to ring Ralph Thorman (Manager), and Brian and Stan (owners), and I cannot speak to them. So basically, my only option is legal, and exposing them for what they are and sharing my experiences.

So it’s official, if you have a problem with Elddis, they think it doesn’t affect them, it’s not their responsibility, and you should bang your head against a brick wall with the dealer? Great customer service Elddis, nice to feel valued! Your MD at the NEC was dismissive, and totally uninterested! Perhaps this is why quality control and the Elddis product are so poor of late?

Well, you have been warned people, go near Glossop Caravan’s and you will be playing with fire! PDI’s are next to useless, delivery demonstrations to customers are next to useless, if there is a problem with the product they’ll likely hide it from you, and if you complain, they’ll ignore you! Sales of Goods act simply doesn’t exist in their minds, they are too big to care and how dare customers complain? The answer, they’ll likely just ignore you!

As for Elddis, their product in my opinion is substandard, poor workmanship, and reeks of none existent quality control. For those buying a new 2014 caravan from the NEC, Glossop Caravan’s or Elddis, take note of this very real and honest review of our experience buying our Buccaneer Schooner.

Fellow members, readers, Caravaners, please stand up to Elddis and Glossop Caravans. Vote with your feet until they start to treat us all with respect!

Expect more feedback on this case, including detailed correspondence should Elddis and Glossop Caravan’s not resolve my problems. I will be taking them to court and exposing the issues widely, I recommend you all do the same!

Please share your experiences in this thread regarding: Elddis, Glossop Caravan’s and the Buccaneer product. Surely I’m not alone in my experience? Sorry for the long post, but if I spare just one person from my experience it will have been worth it.

I cant be leave these people can think they can get away with this at all I have to take my hat of to you for having a level head I don't think I could I would want some ones head over this sorry it makes me bloody mad putting it lightly I have to say it there taking the p**s I do feel for you and hope you get what you deserve a new van.

Hi we bought our new affinity in august our warranty claims are now nearly complete but its been a long stressful 6 months. similar faults with water system , alarm,lights,faulty idc,discoloured sink,alde overheating,trim peeling,creaking furniture,damaged carpets,stereo speakers , fly screen, front panel fault,and more . Will never buy new again. Different dealer though , Hope you get the right outcome we know how you feel

We had a lot of problems with a 2nd hand (3 year old) van purchased from them in July 2013 too.

Our list of faults (keeping it to the big ones only) were
Van required respray on off side (this was only apparent after we had collected it)
Faulty door lock
3 Locker door locks broken
Damaged panel
Interior trim falling off
Bathroom door handle falling off
Leaky taps

Whilst not as extensive as your problems, these were still not what we expected from a 3 year old van which had supposedly gone through a PDI inspection.
We contacted Glossop and continued to keep them up to date on faults as we found them.
After much conversing, it was agreed that they would collect the van from us (220 miles away) and complete all the repairs, which with one exception (hopefully to be rectified in as soon as I collect the part in February) they did a great job.
I did however get to the point with them that I spoke to Ralph and Stan Jnr, because I had to threaten them with legal action before they really took me and the problems seriously.
I find it hard to understand how you have not been able to speak to Stan Laing as when ever I have called him (with one exception when he called me back about 10min after I called) he has always taken my calls, however I do understand your frustrations as customer service, is in my opinion, something they do not understand as a company. Getting them to call back can be a nightmare, and as far as keeping you up to date, make sure you demand a date and time for them to contact you by.

I would suggest that if you cannot speak to Ralph, ask for Sylvia in the work shops. She bent over backwards to assist us after we kicked up a fuss, and she will also put you through to Stan if she cannot personally assist.
Stan's email should it help you is sl at glossopcaravans.co.uk.

Do you have the van on finance? If so then the finance company should be told what has happened, and requested to intervene. If not I would suggest one more try to speak to Stan Jnr and if that doesn't work, prepare to go legal. Asking the receptionist who answers the phone who to submit a court summons too should work

From what you describe you have a large number of small faults that could be easily fixed satisfactorily by a skilled operative willing to take the time to do the job properly. As it is perfectly feasable that these faults could eventually be fixed then it might be difficult to reject caravan on these grounds.

The faults you describe are all fixable in a caravan workshop. The problem appears to be that Glossop's workshop staff are not capable of working to a good standard. This is evident from many previous threads about Glossop.

The roof dents are a separate issue. Obviously these happened before delivery but a parallel can be drawn with hail damage. A hail damaged new caravan is usually written off as a cheaper alternative to putting on a new roof. This is because the caravan is still perfectly usable & can be sold on by insurance co. at well below list price to anybody who is not bothered with a dented roof that is usually not really noticeable.

So you should concentrate on the roof damage. If you would regard proper repair of the internal faults(maybe at another Elddis dealer workshop?)& a refund of several £1000s to compensate for devaluation of caravan due to roof damage as a good outcome then go for that. But remember if you want to trade in 'van in the future, the roof damage will be noticed & trade in value will be seriously reduced.

With the roof damage & a replacement roof not being an economical repair the caravan is at the moment effectively an insurance write off so you should base any claim on that fact. Not the interior faults which are all fixable.

The OP does not say whether the van was
bought cash or HP. The way you bought the van determines what legals you use to
back your case for the dealer to pay for the repair. It is the dealer you go
against unless you wish to make a claim under the warranty. No point in the
dealer saying its Elddis’s problem – they sold it so, under the Sale of Goods
Act it’s down to them if you paid cash.

Let's assume that you paid cash (maybe
via a bank loan). Under the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) your caravan should be of
satisfactory quality, sufficiently durable and free from any defects. Further
it should be "as described". It clearly wasn’t so there is a breach
of the SOGA

Timing is important under the SOGA as that
determines just what rights you have. As the original problems were mentioned less
than six months since the date of your purchase then, under s48B of the
SOGA ( as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers
Regulations 2002) you are entitled to demand a replacement or a repair.
s48A3 of the SOGA, make it clear that where the kind of defect you found
is found within six months of delivery of the caravan to you then the law deems
that defect to have been in place on the date you contracted to buy it. The
dealer has to prove otherwise to avoid its liabilities under SOGA. So, assuming
that you did nothing wrong like, say, pulling the doors off their hinges, the
law says that the Seller is at fault. Don't let the seller try and get out of that.

The
OP elected to have the caravan repaired, so by virtue of section 48B of the
SOGA (as amended) the dealer had to comply with two statutory obligations:-

to
undertake the repairs within a reasonable period of time, and

without
causing significant inconvenience to the OP

If the OP had said that he wanted a replacement the day he complained
about the problems he could not legally enforce that requirement if that
request was impossible to perform or disproportionate to the repair remedy. From
the OP’s post it appears that replacement was disproportionate so repair was
the way forward and that was undertaken. However, with regard to the roof,
perhaps that fault was reported in the six month period, In any event there appears to be evidence that Glossop's knew of the fault when sold so the game starts
again.

Can it be repaired without causing significant inconvenience? Sounds as
though it may be a full roof replacement and that could be months. Ask the dealer
how long it will take to get fixed so that he commits himself to a period of
time that will cause that “significant inconvenience.”

Under section 48C of SOGA you can, as a last resort rescind the contract
and the Dealer has to give you your money back. However, you can only rescind
if it is impossible to repair or replace without significant inconvenience or
such repair/replacement is disproportionate or at an additional cost to the
dealer. So, rescinding the contract has difficulties, if the dealer sticks to
the letter of the law.

No joy from the dealer and its down to litigation. You can try Trading
Standards at Derbyshire County Council but I have found such departments
hopeless. They will fight for issues that fall in line with their policy focus
and if caravan dealerships are not on the list forget it.

Remember that, generally, once you have
made your choice of remedy you are stuck with it. Once they start the repair work, you
can’t then say that you have changed your mind and want a new van unless that
repair is taking an unreasonable length of time. You may wish to drop them a
line..maybe.....

Dear Sir,

With reference to my caravan, purchased from you on
the [] July 2013, you have acknowledged
that the damage to the roof was in existence when you sold me the van and of
course you did not draw my attention to it when buying.

In accordance with s48B of the
SOGA I am entitled to have the
caravan repaired at your cost.I
would therefore be grateful if you could now confirm that you will undertake
those repairs and within a reasonable period of time and advise me of the
length of time this work will take.

I
reserve my rights under the Act to rescind the contract and call for a full
refund in the event that you are unwilling or unable to undertake the repairs
within a reasonable period of time, or, in the alternative, find a replacement
caravan.

If you bought the van using an HP arrangement, say
via Black Horse, then the legal route is different.

If this is an HP arrangement then you have not
actually bought the van. Glossops sold
the van to the HP company and you are merely hiring it and paying the HP
company for that hire. Once you have paid an agreed amount to the HP
company ownership of the van will then transfer to you. Thus you do not
have a contract with Glossops to which the rights under the Sale of Goods Act
applies.

In the case of HP it would be down to the HP
company to get Glossops to put the van right. s10 of the Sale of Goods (Implied
Terms) Act 1973 states that in a Hire Purchase agreement there is an implied
term that the goods supplied under the agreement are of satisfactory quality.
Satisfactory quality includes a principle that the van must be free of even
minor defects. Thus it should not have a defective roof so the Hire Purchase
company is in breach of contract.

You could reject the caravan, your HP agreement
ends and the HP company take issue with Glossop to get their money back.

The rights to reject you get under the Sale of
Goods Act are different in the case of Hire Purchase. Rather than having the
benefit of statutory protection you have to rely on general contract law
principles. Under HP the right to reject goods is only lost when the contract
is affirmed, and this requires a positive decision by you to carry on with the
HP contract after having gained knowledge of the defect. So the sooner you
write to the HP company to start discussions the better

You write to the HP company to advise it of the roof
issue and mention that "it is clearly not of satisfactory quality".
Remind the HP company of its obligations under the 1973 regs. You ask the
HP company to talk to Glossops to get it to agree to undertake the repairs at
Glossop's costs otherwise you will "not affirm the HP agreement, the
caravan will be rejected and the credit agreement will then be deemed
to be at an end necessitating a repayment of all monies paid under that
agreement" Use those words. The HP company should then lean
on Glossops.

Courts tend to side with hirers in these cases.

If you get no joy from the HP company then advise
them that you will ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to investigate. I reckon
that they will decide in your favour on the facts you have given in this
thread. Just for your peace of mind here is a report of a decision of the
Ombudsman back in 2001 in a similar case he was asked to investigate.....

" Mr H bought a new caravan by hire purchase. With this type of
arrangement, until the consumer has made their final payment, the vehicle does
not belong to them but to their finance provider.

On the day the caravan was delivered to him, Mr H was concerned to find
a number of faults in the interior fittings and parts of the décor. He
contacted the dealer from whom he had bought the caravan and complained that
none of these faults should have been present in a brand-new vehicle –
particularly as it had been made to order.

The dealer arranged for three of the faults to be remedied almost
immediately. However, eight months later Mr H was still waiting for the
remaining repairs to be done. At that stage he contacted his finance provider
and said he wished to reject the caravan on the grounds that it had been ‘unfit
for purpose’ when it was sold.

The finance provider told Mr H that it would contact the dealer to
ensure the outstanding repairs were completed. Several attempts were then made
to carry out the repairs but the remedial work was badly done and in a couple
of instances it caused additional problems.

Mr H again complained to the finance provider, repeating his request to
reject the caravan. The finance provider said it could not accept this. It said
that, in its opinion, the caravan was ‘of a satisfactory quality’. The faults
were cosmetic – not structural – and they had all been remedied except for the
fitting of new flooring, which would be undertaken shortly.

Mr H then referred his complaint to us.

complaint upheldMr H told us that a number of repairs
were still outstanding. He said the flooring had not yet been replaced, the
kitchen work-surface trim remained loose, the seating was not bolted together as
it should have been and a bracket was missing from the corner seating area.

On the basis of the evidence we saw, we concluded that the finance
provider had failed to ensure the caravan was of a satisfactory quality when it
was supplied. We said that the fact that most of the faults were not structural
did not prevent Mr H from exercising his right to reject the caravan.

We noted that Mr H had acted reasonably in agreeing to allow time for
the repairs to be carried out, rather than rejecting the caravan outright. And
we accepted that the finance provider had not initially been aware of the
faults, as Mr H had contacted the dealer direct. But we said that once the
finance provider became aware of the problem, it should have ensured that
matters were put right promptly.

We upheld the complaint and told the finance provider to allow Mr H to
reject the caravan. Mr H had asked for a refund of all his payments. We did not
agree to this, as we had seen evidence that he had been able to make use of the
caravan – and had sub-let it on a number of occasions. We said the finance
provider should release him from the finance agreement and return his deposit
of £17,000, plus interest."

A resolution may take some time...be patient.

This advice has been given on the basis of the
information the OP has supplied. If the facts are any different, or there is
any additional information the advice may be different. Each case turns on its
facts.

Quote: Originally posted by cwdc56768 on 21/1/2014
The OP does not say whether the van was bought cash ............

Blimey, did you swallow the sale of goods act book?

That is excellent advice to the OP and I congratulate your knowledge.
I hope the OP will be able to take this advice and confront Glossop with a speedy resolve and I look forward to the OP letting us know how things progress

Huge thanks to cwdc for his advice! Clearly you know your legal facts, and thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge.

I bought the van with savings using a Visa Debit Card, not Credit, hence I think the SOGA applies, and it's for me to fight directly, but not literally!

You are correct. I tried to request a new van replacement early on, but understood from research I couldn't force that remedy. I notified them we reserved the right to continue to reject the Caravan if repairs were not correctly carried out.

This latest issue with the roof was discovered and reported on 05/12/13, hence from collection date was within 6 months. In any case, evidence appears to have been accepted by Glossop that the damage was on the van ahead of collection and payment in very early August 13 (we placed order on 03/07/13 from memory).

I have been in touch with Ralph Thorman again at Glossop on 20/01/14 with the following:

Dear Ralph,

I have tried contacting you this morning by phone and left a message.

Following our clear repeated rejection of goods, lastly on 05/12/13, we are now almost 7 weeks on since the email below. I wish to place formally on record that during those last 7 weeks:

1. You have accepted that evidence provided has proved that damage existed on our new caravan roof prior to purchase from Glossop Caravans.
2. Your staff, had signed documents clearly outlining there was damage during works at Glossop ahead of delivery.
3. You have continually promised to find a resolution, yet nothing has materialised to date.
4. You tell me that Glossop Caravans and namely your owners have not authorised you to resolve our situation. You state this was linked to having not won the support of the manufacturers at Elddis.
5. With the above in mind I have repeatedly asked to make contact with the owners of Glossop Caravans: I haven't had any correspondence or phone calls from them still. Do they not care about after sales or consumer legislation?
6. I have made it clear, if Glossop Caravans have any dispute with Elddis with regards to who damaged the van ahead of our purchase, that is nothing to do with us. Our claim and legal responsibility for resolving it rests purely with Glossop Caravans: as such this cannot justify the delay as you have claimed.
7.No resolution of dispute offers have been formally presented to me whatsoever despite me waiting 7 weeks and giving you all ample opportunity to do so.
8. The background of this case is significant repeated faults on a caravan that had been returned to the factory for works. The Caravan is still not fully functional. The Tracker system will not work, the water system hasn't worked correctly. For a Caravan bought in early July 2013, that is totally unacceptable approaching 6 months later.
9. You give me no alternative but to commence legal proceedings without delay.

I now formally request you to present your offers of resolution.

Should you not accept the facts given above then please respond immediately without delay, as these facts will be relied upon in future.

Resolution for us is simple, choose options:
1. Full refund for Caravan and all associated extras (everything, about £33,000, you have the figures).
2. Provide a new replacement caravan, and transfer all extras purchased, or resupply them, your choice.
3. Significant compensation, £8,000, plus you agree to rectify the damage at some stage in future.
4. Court action and we accept the findings, along with legal costs involved.

I cannot presents facts any clearer Ralph. We now need immediate action and your offers of resolution. Failure to present your resolution to us in writing will be interpreted that you are deliberately avoiding obligations under the Sales of Goods act.

Yours faithfully,

Mr **********

Ralph's response was:

Dear Richard,

Thank you for your e-mail.

As you know, I am still trying to resolve the situation with the owners of Glossop Caravans and the Directors at Elddis. I note that one of your latest options is compensation plus repairs to the Roof. When I spoke to you last I suggested this option and mentioned that given the circumstances I may be able to get up to £5,000.00 compensation for you.

If I get this amount approved and rectify the Roof damage could we settle matters?

Regards

Ralph Thorman

Anyway after 7 weeks, all I'm repeatedly told is that he still trying to resolve the situation with the owners and Elddis. I bang my head against a brick wall. They're not saying they will do nothing, but equally they don't make any firm offer to resolve.

My thoughts are to give up with Glossop Caravans, and Elddis.

Am I entitled to demand a full refund? Or you think I should accept compensation? I'm fed up of the mess! My gut feeling is not to accept compensation, but it is difficult to know how badly the damage could affect future values?

Anyhow, I at least feel better getting such help as offered above. Thank you all!

For now, here is my response to Ralph:

Dear Ralph,

Your potential offer of £5K is well off the mark for a damaged van being sold to us as new. I cannot accept this, nowhere near.

As you are unable to make a suitable offer of compensation or resolution, we are back to needing a new replacement van or entire refund.

If you delay longer, I will seek full reimbursement only; the full figure of £33K (approx). After all, the way this issue has been dealt with, along with the amount of trouble and faults to date, I am quite legally justified in clearly stating I have lost faith with not only Glossop Caravans, but the Elddis product.

This situation has harmed the reputation of Glossop Caravans, and can only get worse the longer it is left unresolved. I note from numerous forums I am not alone in my experiences.

I don't think Glossop have any reputation to harm. Their business model appears to be to shift large amounts of discounted caravans with minimal after sales service. Most caravans do not have faults so most customers are satisfied.

From the many threads about Glossop over the yrs it does appear that Glossop do not have the skilled staff &/or the will to repair caravans properly. This is going to be your problem if you go the repairs route. The roof can only be repaired by replacing the roof which may not be a good idea, may not even be economically viable & it would actually be better to leave as is but of course this seriously devalues caravan.

I think Glossops preferred result would be to get you to accept £5k+ compo but then you will still have the same problem when you try to get more warranty work done.

What is position with getting warranty work done at another Elddis dealer, have you investigated this? Ie accept compo for the devaluation of caravan due to roof damage & find a competant workshop that will undertake warranty work.

If all else fails threaten to plaster it all over with the faults and dealers name and drive round and round the NEC car parks with free advertising for them!
A mate had problems with Bristol Street Motors and Ford and threatened to do this at the Motor Show obviously advising the TV and Press of your protest.
It certainly had the desired effect with Ford!

But seriously I really feel for you and hope you get it sorted one way or another!

His response reads as though he is unrelated to Glossop, that he is a middle man seeking to negotiate with Glossop. Is he? Or is he an employee of Glossop pretending to be independent of them such that you are being kept at arms length from the Company? Sounds like trickery to me or else just very poor letter writing.

You gave them options to resolve the matter and one was to repair the Van and provide compensation but you have not specified what the compensation is for. You are not entitled to compensation other than perhaps for the depreciated value of the van because of the defect. In terms of litigation your position may be prejudiced if you ebb and flow with what you want. You have to be specific and stick to it.

Don't threaten litigation unless you intend to go through with it.

If you are happy with repair and compensation (and I don't know if £5000 would represent the actual value of the van after the repair, but assume it does) could I suggest the following and which is a tad blunt but isn't it gloves off time?

Dear Ralph,

Without
Prejudice to my rights to have a replacement van or my money back under the
Sale of Goods Act

With reference to your letter of the [date], can I
firstly thank you for your acknowledgement of liability by your open offer.

I may be willing to explore the option of the
repair plus compensation provided that you are able to satisfy me that your
Company can meet its legal obligations under the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA)

Under s48B of the SOGA (as amended) your Company is
required to comply with two statutory obligations:-

1.to undertake the repairs
within a reasonable period of time, and

2.without
causing significant inconvenience to me

Your company has clearly failed thus far so I need you to provide me
with a considerable degree of confidence that you can overcome that failure if
we proceed along the lines you have suggested. Please set out in detail your
proposed work programme taking into account that I have a holiday booked for
the [date] March 2014.

You are also required by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 to
undertake the work using reasonable skill and care. Please provide me with
details as to how you will satisfy that requirement including details of the
particular skills of the individuals who will be undertaking the work.

Should your Company be unable to meet its obligations under the legislation
I have mentioned then the only options appear to be

1.Replacement Van

2.Refund of my money
plus interest over the period. I would suggest that interest be calculated in
accordance with Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984

I appreciate that you are in discussion with Elddis over this matter but
the primary responsibility lies with your Company under the terms of your
contract with me and the conditions incorporated into that by the SOGA. I
expect you to have provided me with a full response to this letter within the next
seven days otherwise I shall have to consider that discussions are at an end
and that litigation is the only way forward. I am sure that your own legal
advisors will be recommending that you meet my requirements in these particular
circumstances.

In the even that litigation is necessary then please advise as to
whether proceedings should be served at your registered address or upon your
Solicitors. If the latter, then please provide their name and address, and
reference.

I will present something like this to them, giving a deadline. The figure of £5K was mentioned but not offered by Ralph. I actually just want a perfect new van, that is why I bought new and fitted new extras to make something special and to be proud of. I have been too soft with Glossop so far, but this will change!

I love the idea of parking my van by the NEC with some great advertising for Elddis and Glossop, wouldn't that be great!

Without Prejudice to my rights to have a replacement van or my money back under the Sale of Goods Act.

With reference to your email of 21/01/14, can I firstly thank you for your acknowledgement of liability by your open offer.

I may be willing to explore the option of the repair plus compensation provided that you are able to satisfy me that your Company can meet its legal obligations under the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA)

Under s48B of the SOGA (as amended) your Company is required to comply with two statutory obligations:-

1. to undertake the repairs within a reasonable period of time, and

2. without causing significant inconvenience to me

Your company has clearly failed thus far so I need you to provide me with a considerable degree of confidence that you can overcome that failure if we proceed along the lines you have suggested. Please set out in detail your proposed work programme taking into account that I have a holiday booked for the 15th February 2014.

You are also required by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 to undertake the work using reasonable skill and care. Please provide me with details as to how you will satisfy that requirement including details of the particular skills of the individuals who will be undertaking the work.

Should your Company be unable to meet its obligations under the legislation I have mentioned then the only options appear to be

1. Replacement Van

2. Refund of my money plus interest over the period. I would suggest that interest be calculated in accordance with Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984

I appreciate that you are in discussion with Elddis over this matter but the primary responsibility lies with your Company under the terms of your contract with me and the conditions incorporated into that by the SOGA. I expect you to have provided me with a full response to this letter within the next seven days otherwise I shall have to consider that discussions are at an end and that litigation is the only way forward. I am sure that your own legal advisors will be recommending that you meet my requirements in these particular circumstances.

In the even that litigation is necessary then please advise as to whether proceedings should be served at your registered address or upon your Solicitors. If the latter, then please provide their name and address, and reference.

Yours faithfully,

Ok, now I wait. Next correspondence if nothing is agreed will be from solicitors with clear instructions to send off court papers!